JAJPUR:Jajpur SP Anup Kumar Sahu on Thursday suspended four police personnel including an Assistant Sub-Inspector (ASI) of Dharmasala police station in connection with an extortion case.
Besides ASI Sudhira Routray, constables Sanjaya Das and Akshaya Mallik and driver Balaram Das of the police station were suspended on the basis of an inquiry ordered by the SP into the incident, after this paper published a report ‘Cops injured in hit and run case’. The inquiry headed by Reserve Inspector (RI) found them guilty.
It may be noted that a team of Dharmasala police station led by the ASI Sudhira Routray was on patrolling duty along NH-5 on April 18. At about 3 am, the team intercepted a truck allegedly smuggling cattle and asked its driver to stop the vehicle near Neulpur, reportedly to extract money from the cattle smugglers. But, the driver hit the police vehicle and sped away. As a result, constables Das and Mallik who were inside the vehicle sustained injuries. The patrolling vehicle was also badly damaged in the incident.
When contacted, Jajpur Road SDPO Jugal Kishore Das said the cops were placed under suspension for dereliction of duty. “The action was taken following the inquiry report submitted by the RI,” he said.